Forum Buzz
By da Original S Man & asagiri2040

7/2/03 Edition

Important News

System Update: AX or Bust!
Time to pack up and hit the road, folks. Anime Expo takes on the city of lost angels this week for a four day marathon. And to celebrate, AnimeOnDVD.com is hosting the ultimate party or bust! panel this coming Thursday. At 4PM we expect everyone to pop into Room 304 to meet-and-greet Sean Broestl, wolve, dlw, Jerry_Vo, Andrew Tei, Shawne K., Sapphire, and maybe even S-Man (if we can find him). Ask questions, meet fellow posters, and you won't believe the pile of free DVDs to giveaway. Be there to hear all the dark tales about site owner Chris Beveridge. Be there to see David Williams & Shawne Kleckner face off with deadly panties of fury. Be there because wolve will bitch and moan for the next year if you don't. Anyone who gets this battle royale on tape should drop a line to Chris. He wants copies, photos, and any evidence of how mean we are about him.

(like we'd really say it while the cameras are on...)

A special reminder to all who wish to join the forums, be sure to check out:

And now, onto the forums...

Girls with Guns (and not from ADV!?)
Sneaky people seem to be working at AnimeNation. Recently an image popped up into their banner rotation linking to the AN Entertainment website. The series? A 13 episode "girls with guns" style series called Miami Guns. No one is talking yet but the domain is registered to AnimeNation... maybe AX will bring good news.

Cyborg 009 - But whose that owner?
Starting this week on Cartoon Network's Toonami is Cyborg 009. This is the newer version of the series which is wrapping up its own DVD release. However, details have been sketchy on just who the owner really is. According to "juliant59", one of the voice actors said mentioned that it is Sony. The actual credits which air with the TV series do not give any hint so we hope to get all of the full details nailed down soon. Would Sony care to comment?

Odex to drop it's DVD line for now
Singapore DVD release company Odex has made a rather sad announcement. The company releases legal DVDs with carry an additional "literal" English translation of the series. This has become a very popular alternative when trying to find series not already in the US (*ahem* Boys Be... *ahem*) and have the option to understand what is being said. Despite the additonal sales to the worldwide English speaking market, Odex can not justify making anime DVDs against their more popular VCD counterparts for the moment. This comes with the additional notice that they have picked up the Singapore licenses for RahXephon, Kiddy Grade, Da! Da! Da!, and several other titles.

Odex titles can be found at Popular.com.sg. Prices are in Singapore dollars so use a currency coverter.

Voices of a Distant Star Replacement Program
The current release of VoaDS has a major issue. The alternate Japanese track (aka the "Director's Cut") was not actually on the DVD even though it is listed. ADV has answered the weeks of compliants & questions with a simple to follow replacement program. Follow the instructions and you will soon be able to enjoy every version of Voices of a Distant Star available.

Ranma 1/2 Martial Mayhem Replacement Program
Viz has opened up a replacement program for the Martial Mayhem box set. Episode 7 on volume 2 ended up having the subtitles mistimed when it was being pressed. The exchange program is open until the end of the year so Ranma fans take note.

TOFU Records breaks ground
The sudden surge of anime/jpop music coming to the US has seen yet another new record label formed. Tofu's inital release cd will be a compilation of anime themes (openings & closings to several new & classic series) and some of JPops current hit artists. CDs will be available inperson at AX, Comic Con, and Otakon this year or you can purchase it through their own website.

New Cover Art found this week
Every day we have fellow anime fans searching high and low for new cover art which will be used for a DVD's R1 release. The batch of discoveries this week of Love Hina Again and Geneshaft 3: Orbit are brought to us thanks to "osaka" and DVDPlanet.com:

Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
ADV tends to release titles on a calendar of six weeks an issue. Meanwhile, companies like Bandai & Pioneer work off of a two month schedule. So, obviously people feel like complianing that anime isn't releasing fast enough from these other companies. And do you know what? Alot of people seem quite happy with the current arrangement. Quality is always more important than speed.

AnimeOnDVD Recommendation Pre-voting II+
Several series are closing in on their due date and it's up to the fans to show what they have to turn in. Take a whirl in the recommendation machine. Also, this week Princess Nine is up for its final vote so you better get your say in now because thousands of new fans will be reading it for years to come.

AX: The Gathering
Even with the AoD panel coming up we have yet another item to mention. It is time yet against for another forum gathering. The gathering time & place is be worked up so we suggest you stop by the thread if you'd like to join in on the fun. If you don't, we'll have to hear wolve bitch and moan for the next year. ;-)

It's all about the... Mahou Shoujo anime?
With Shoujo getting its largest push in these recent licensing years, many are wondering just exactly what shoujo titles are releasing in the near future. Whether you're a moonie, a card holding member of the magic club, or dance in a tutu (quack!) you'll need to stop by and sound off. There are alot of great series coming to the US and those on the verge with this new con season.

Hikaru no Go gets US anime & manga license
Viz has let word of their newest pickup get out before the next con has even come to pass. The series centers around Hikaru, a Japanese 6th grader whose life is fairly average. Digging through the items of his grandfather, Hikaru discovers a Go table which is stained with blood. Go is a Japanese strategy game which is played with a board and black & white pieces. Similar to the popularity of chess in the western world. Within this board that our "hero" has discovered is a restless spirit of an instructor from centuries past. He can not rest until he has achieved the top honor in his playing. Of course, Hikaru has no intrest in Go at first but he eventually builds his own appreciation of the challenging game.

Sugar volume 2 not so sweet?
A possible new glitch has surfaced for Pioneer's recently release of "A Little Snow Fairy Sugar: Friends and Dreams". Fans are currently checking their copies to see if there is a running problem of the Japanese audio track being in mono. If you own this disc, please check your copy and report if you have the problem or not.

Urusei Yasutra dub supervisor talks
AnimEigo staffer Scott Carlson recently gave an interview to ANN. In it he reconfirms that Swirl Recording will be dubbing the UY movie for AnimEigo and reveals the two actors playing the lead roles. The news.. has been less than well recieved.

July is a wheelin' and a dealin'
New month, new thread about all the latest & greatest deals to be found on the web. Lots of free shipping options are available for the moment.

Do you AoD @ Work?
Are you such a big anime fan that you check the site & forums daily even if you're at work? Many seem to. It's amazing what kind of passion and dedication people can show for this genre.

Manga: The Mobile Anime
Ever get this feeling that you would like to take your anime with you? Duh! But since portable DVD players are still out of our price range, let's take another look at the lighter & more paper-based version known as "manga".

Central Park Media

Comics One

TOKYOPOP

Box this, Box that, Box this, Box that
The evils of cardboard are back. Will we ever see an end to boxmania? Must the mods once again employee the darker side of the force (read: flood) to destroy the DVD holders and show what will happen to theirs if the constant "we wanna box!" statements continue? Only time will tell (get the chainsaw ready, flood).

Pixar gets Incredible!
When there was trouble, he was there. When the world needed a hero, he was there. When the world needed a reason to laugh, Pixar brought him there in a whole new way. Recently posted is the long trailer for Pixar/Disney's next work after Finding Nemo called "The Incredibles". Suit up with a retired man-in-tights with that old man feel. Mr. Incredible a comical version of the Dark Knight Returns? Indeed!

Looking for love in all the wrong places.
For some people, love is as simple as glancing in another's direction. For others, it's a constant battle to find someone intresting to share their passion with. Got love? Some do, some don't. While we don't expect AoD to open up a "anime singles" section anytime soon, it is nice to chat and get off your chest the ups & downs of looking for that special someone. Of course, in order to look one must not be so shy as to have not even started...

There is only one who can save us... never mind the dozen copies in Japan
The Matrix and fandom is pretty funny. Some people dress up, some recite large segments of dialogue, and a very large group of fans will even re-enact the movie to crowds of street walkers. Enter the Matrix on the streets of Japan. Trinity is pretty cute as a Japanese girl and it seems the Japanese Agent system supports both genders. But always remember one key thing: there is no spoon.

DoNotCall.gov
Oh the horror of those phone calls during dinner. I really hate them. But with the new "Do Not Call" list option, will we lose one of our sources to torture people? You can't tell us you haven't said "Hold on, a sec" and then just left the phone off the hook to see how long the person will last. It's only fair to ruin their day like they did ours.

Questions, questions everywhere...
New week, new crop. Ever get the feeling that this is a running theme on forums? ;-)

Dance, Dance, Aoi-chan Revolution
You may be king of the arcade. You may be king of the mat at home. But are you king of the keyboard? Time to DDR to the theme of Ai Yori Aoshi where one mistake loses everything.

Quote of the Week

"So thats why the release schedules are so slow. Those damn employees are trying to earn more in their paycheck. Those bastards!" - Mmeeva

When not stopping trouble (or starting it) on the AoD Forums, S-Man can be found working on the database project at Crystal Acids and asagiri2040 can be found not updating his Rising Sun Alternative website. Work it harder, make it better, do it faster, makes us stronger. More then ever, hour, after, hour, work is, never over. S-Man should be wandering around AX so maybe, just maybe we'll have some interesting extras to run next week. Cross your fingers, folks.